Welcome to Roses & Thorns. All books receive honest reviews, regardless of our sources. We are no longer accepting submissions. While the blog will remain live, I cannot continue reviewing books. My own writing is suffering from keeping up with two blogs. I will post my last review on May 29, 2017. Thank you Rose and Donna for your help, authors for the (mostly) great reading, and readers for following us.

Roses & Thorns

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The Sweet Potato Queens'
Guide to Raising Children for Fun and Profitis a hilarious (though not scientifically tested) wink
at the time-honored mysteries of parenting, because anybody who has ever had a
kid or has ever known one knows that the experience is neither fun nor
profitable -- so you might as well laugh!

As each generation begins its hopeful, happy,
and, yes, sometimes harrowing journey as Parent and Child, together they spawn
a new body of "knowledge," the nuances of which will elude the
Experts every time. Here are stories of the things we do for Mother Love -- or,
the most incredibly full-time volunteer job ever -- and tips guaranteed not to
be found in any other parenting guide.

·How to talk to a pregnant woman

·How the diamonds on delivery policy can
speed up the labor nature intended

·Why a good mother is always adept at
subterfuge

·The list of things you wouldn't think you
would have to tell kids not to do

·Why mothers of sons can never retire

·Why, for parents, it's just a short drive
to the poorhouse

The Sweet Potato Queens' Guide to Raising
Children for Fun and Profitwill
have everyone who's ever been a parent -- or has ever thought of becoming one
-- or has ever been a child -- or is still one -- giggling and grinning (no
small feat) through those childbearing years...and beyond.

Review by Rose Thornton:

Anyone who is familiar with Jill Conner
Browne’s series of Sweet Potato Queen books has likely already read this one
because her work is addictive and if you read one, you will want to read them
all! Browne is the female Dave Barry of written humor based on real-life. This
is another delightful book of hers. If you have yet to read of the Sweet Potato
Queens, you are in for a special treat. This book, like the others, is easy to
read, well-organized, includes many helpful tips and recipes, and above all is
hilarious! I highly recommend it.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

No
matter how hard she tries, Elleanor Fisher never thinks she's good enough, from
her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the
hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until,
that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL's Nashville
Assassins. Before Elli knows what's happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice
and shatters her world.

A
brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he's living
outside of it: the women, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when
he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he
feels like he's just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical
she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli
to put her insecurities aside before she misses out on a shot at love.

Review by Rochelle Weber:

Although
I’m not a hockey fan by any stretch of the imagination, Taking Shots
was a pleasant, somewhat-engaging read. However, it was way too long, and the
dialog was extremely stilted. In fact, you can see a sample of the stilted
dialog right here in the blurb; “…Shea knows they are meant to be together…” A
hockey player would “…know they’re meant…” I can’t begin to list the number of
times in Taking Shots where people fail to use
contractions. Even Shea’s four year-old nephew says something like “his Unky
would not do that.” Really? It’s as though the book’s populated by relatives of
Data. There were also spelling issues and misused words.

It’s
so sad. I share many of Elli’s issues. My mother, too, was an emotionally
abusive alcoholic. When I got engaged, she said, “It’ll never work. He’s too
good for you.” I, too, have thyroid issues and have finally lost over a hundred
pounds but still have some body image issues; although Elli’s expectations are
rather unrealistic. She’s upset that she’s a size ten, and not the size two she
was when she was eighteen. I was happy with a fourteen. I was a twelve when I
was eighteen, although I’m told sizes have changed since then, so I don’t know
what size I would have worn in today’s sizing. At any rate, I’m in my sixties
and more comfortable in my skin than Elli. The fact that even I wanted her to
just get over it, already, and accept Shea says a lot about the problems in Taking Shots.

As
I read the book, I was sure it was self-published. I was wrong. Taking Shots is published by Random House—the “Big Leagues”
of publishing. I can’t believe I could look forward to such a poor level of
editing if I finally made it to that level of success. Where were Ms. Aleo’s
editors? Did they sleep through this manuscript? Half way through the book we
knew what Elli’s issues were and even Elli was convinced Shea was in love with
her and was in it for the long run. But, somehow, Ms. Aleo managed to draw the
story out for another three hundred pages of angst. I finished the book,
because I was curious to see what else could possibly happen, but it was
put-downable. I really am sorry, Ms. Aleo. You need a better editor. I don’t
suppose Random House is hiring sixty-four year-old graduates of Columbia
College, Chicago who require their authors to use a whole lot more contractions,
drop redundancies, and cut superfluous angst.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Susannah Smith is devastated by the unexpected death of her husband, James. They had shared a depth of love that she knew she would never find with another. Yet the way of things is to remarry quickly, and her financial situation demands she do just that. Since marriageable women are scarce, potential suitors constantly hound her to accept their proposals. She would have to choose very wisely though. Marriage to a drunkard, a womanizer, or a man prone to violence was out of the question. Even though most of the prospects seem like decent men, time and time again Susannah turns them down, still unable to accept the idea of moving on.

A mysterious stranger...

Perhaps the best option is to avoid marriage altogether and remain a widow. If she sells James' candle shop, she can use the proceeds to support herself for a while longer, or to gain passage up the bay in hopes of living with her family. However, not only dust has taken up residence in the abandoned building. Much to her dismay, she discovers that a wounded squatter has found refuge there as well.

Josiah Richards represents everything Susannah despises. Quite frankly, he scares her to death, and his unorthodox ways are turning her life upside down. Yet her traitorous heart reaches out to him still. There are things about this dangerous man that she longs to figure out. Why is he there? And why does it feel like the pain she sees in the handsome stranger's eyes is the result of more than just his physical injuries? Will he ever trust her enough to open his heart and let her in? Or will his violent past end up destroying them both?

Donna's Review

While I enjoyed certain aspects of Mary Andersen’s first
novel, A Willing Heart, which review
you can read here, her second novel, A Trusting
Heart, sucked and pulled me in from the start. Andersen is developing a
style that is not only raw and gritty, but chock full of historical facts and
details, from the dialogue to the food and clothing to the historical events of
the time. I really felt immersed in the late 17th century of the
young British Empire.

In A Trusting Heart Andersen brings us recently widowed Susannah
Smith and Josiah Richards, a young man who carries his torments with him and
believes he can never be free of his past. His transformation into a man who
can finally trust Susannah is excellently done. It is particularly poignant
that he cannot stand her touch at the beginning, even as that is the very thing
he needs to heal him, not only physically but mentally as well. The courage he finds later to face his past
is admirable, and his spiritual journey is believable and not trite or over
blown.

The dialogue was particularly impressive. It has an “old
feel” but still flows naturally and lends itself to the story. Dialogue in historical fiction will literally
keep us writers up at night. The trick, of course, is to sprinkle enough words
and phrasing in our characters' mouths to give the reader a flavor of the times
but not cause a burden when reading. In
this instance, Andersen hit a fabulous balance that enhances the setting.

The plot was tight and moved quickly. There were a number of
times I just couldn’t really determine in my mind where Andersen was moving
next with the story as it didn’t seem there were any possibilities of a
resolution towards a happily-ever-after. This book literally kept me guessing
at every turn, so naturally I had a hard time putting it down. In a genre that
relies on happily-ever-afters, messing with a reader’s mind can be difficult.
Andersen did not disappoint.

This is a gritty, Christian novel about the power of healing
a human heart and the need for forgiveness, both from others as well as
ourselves. There are some birthing scenes that are rather realistic. There is a
description of an Indian attack, and there is a murder and near hanging.
Josiah’s issues are real. He’s not a Christian at the beginning, and he has led
a worldly life. This is never detailed in specifics, but it is mentioned and
discussed among the characters.

If you are looking for a sweet historical romance, this is
not it. If you are looking for a raw, emotional experience that will touch your
heart, then you will not be disappointed. An easy 5 roses on this one!

Now, to wait for the third in the trilogy. But waiting is so
hard . . .

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

It’s morning. Soft gray light slips over the
tall red brick wall. It stretches across the exercise yard and reaches through
the high-barred windows. In a cell on the ground floor, the light shifts dark
shapes into a small stool, a scrawny table, and a bed made of wooden boards
with no mattress or blanket. On that bed, a thin, huddled figure, Helmuth, a
boy of seventeen, lies awake. Shivering. Trembling.

It’s a Tuesday.

The executioner works on Tuesday.

Review by Rose Thornton:

The Boy
Who Dared is a work of historical fiction based on the true life of a
German teenage boy, Helmuth Hubener, and his courage to stand up against Nazi
evils during WWII. For this, Helmuth was executed by the Germans for treason at
the age of seventeen. Bartoletti is a good writer, but I did not care for the
format she used with switching back and forth from previous time to the present
time setting of the book. She did include interesting information at the end of
the book about Helmuth, his family, and friends, and also several touching
photos and a timeline for the Third Reich. Bartoletti also gave a good
explanation to readers of what a work historical fiction is at the back of the
book. I enjoyed this story of a young war hero, a youth not in a military
force, but one who believed in the pen being mightier than the sword.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

College
junior Sara Barnes thought her life was totally under control. All she had to
worry about were her final exams, Christmas shopping, applying to medical
school—and what to do about the cute freshman in the next dorm with a crush on
her. Everything was going according to plan, until the night she started seeing
other people’s dreams.

It’s
bad enough that Sara is learning more than she ever needed to know about her
friends and classmates, watching their most secret fantasies whether she wants
to or not. Much worse are the other dreams, the ones she sees nearly every
night, featuring a strange, terrifying man who commits unspeakable crimes. Now
Sara wonders if she’s the only witness to a serial killer—and the only one who
knows when and where he’s going to strike next.

Dream Student is the first book of
the Dream Series.

Review by Rochelle Weber:

J.J. DiBenedetto is that rare author who is capable
of writing a series in which each book stands on its own. There are no cliff-hangers (one of my pet
peeves) here. Whether or not one wishes
to read the next book in the Dream Series is entirely dependent on the quality
of the writing of the books one has already read. The only drawback to having read Dream Doctor first is that I pretty much
knew how Dream Student ended when
I picked it up. Therefore, it’s a testament to Mr. DiBenedetto’s talent that Dream Student engaged me on page one and
kept my attention right through the final page, even though I knew who did it before
I opened the book. That is the mark of a
truly excellent author, and I cannot give greater praise. Buy the book and see for yourself. And if you haven’t read any of the other
books in the series, I guarantee Mr. DiBenedetto will keep you guessing to the
very end. I’m very good at figuring out
the ends of books, but he fooled me with Dream
Doctor, and probably would have done so here as well. I look forward to reading Dream Child. It’s waiting on my Kindle.